Six Keyboards Under $20

We’re finicky about keyboards. We write a lot of stories here, and the right keyboard makes typing a few thousand words a week much easier to bear. We also play a few PC games around here. Yes, we realize that you’re shocked at that idea, because it’s obvious that we’re such a serious bunch here, ranting about Windows Vista or trying to crash power supplies.

The needs of PC gamers and the needs of touch typists aren’t always the same. A touch typist needs to be able to, well, type—often at fairly high speeds with reliable keypresses and tactile feedback. A gamer needs a responsive keyboard with a layout that’s not too odd. Therein lies the problem with dedicated gamer keyboards, like the Wolf Claw. A keyboard like Logitech’s G15 is a good compromise, or even Microsoft’s Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000, but all these keyboards tend to be pricey.

Not everyone wants, needs, or can afford a $50 keyboard, or in the case of something like the Logitech G15, a $70 keyboard. So we grabbed a credit card and did a little shopping. Continued…